By Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch
Published September 25, 2008 on CJR.org, the website of the Columbia Journalism Review
Only a few days ago, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson asked Congress to pass legislation that would allow his department to use $700 billion to purchase mountains of bad debt. That's 5 percent of the nation's total annual economic output, or to put it another way, that's even more than what has been spent on the war in Iraq. The magnitude of the funds requisitioned is matched only by the administration's requested level of unchecked power and opacity in how it would execute this historic market intervention.

by Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch
Published on ombwatch.org
December 6, 2007
In an editorial on Dec. 4, The Washington Post concluded "the growing involvement of nonprofits in electoral politics … is a troubling and dangerous development." The next day, the Post ran a front page headline: "Nonprofits Become a Force in Primaries." Like the editorial, the article describes the work of Common Sense Issues, Inc., a 501(c)(4) organization that is operating "Trust Huckabee," but also describes the partisan activities of other 501(c)(4) groups. Reading the article and editorial, it is clear that the Post is concerned that nonprofits are becoming back door conduits for exceeding campaign contribution limits and, as they do so, mask who is bankrolling the activities. The Post also suggests that some groups, like Common Sense Issues, might be gaming the system by structuring their activities to minimally meet the requirements, but not the spirit, of the law.